STRANGER HERE MYSELF: Classical CabaretRetracing the pathways etched into memory by love (quelquefois confusingly and, perhaps, amusingly amoureuse), devotion (at times grossly misplaced), adoration (frequently bordering on the inexplicably addictive). Soprano LISA DAEHLIN, accompanied by pianist RICHARD PEARSON THOMAS, takes us on a musical journey through this deep and gorgeous land. A land of people falling in and out of love, behaving in manners strange and waxing prolific, all in the name of the eternally questionable ways of that seductive organ called the heart. Eclectic selection of compositions by Duparc, Hahn, Poulenc, Satie, Schoenberg, Weill, et al.

LISA DAEHLIN has performed numerous operatic roles including Amelia (Un Ballo in Maschera), Fiordiligi (Cosi Fan Tutte), Tatiana (Eugene Onegin), Angelica (Suor Angelica), Madame Lidoine (Dialogues of the Carmelites), First Lady (Magic Flute) and the High Priestess (Aida). Maestro Richard Woitach cast her to sing the role of Wellgunde (Das Rhinegold), and as his soprano in the concert Woitach and Friends 3-1/2.

In New York City, she is a frequent performer at The Players Club. Most recent programs include December Songs and Transcending Exotic: Embracing Familiar. Her concert repertoire has focused extensively on Norwegian, French and American Chanson, Cabaret and Art Song. She produced and directed OperaKnit Cabaret at Performance Space 122 (PS122, NYC) with Flash Rosenberg and Louis Menendez.

Though known for her rendition of “I’m a Stranger Here Myself,” Lisa is no stranger to the cabaret stage, having performed incarnations of her show From Classical to Cabaret: The songs of Poulenc, Porter, Weill and Satie in venues as varied as the underground club to the concert hall. She has sung Dorothy Parker songs in the Algonquin’s Oak Room. She has performed the music of Stefania de Kenessey at City Center and with the Annabella Gonzalez Dance Theater at Lincoln Center. The recording project for that company is now used in the performance repertoire. Her one-woman show Twisted Stitch: Songs of Love and Knitting was featured in the Classical to Jazz festival at Cornelia Street Café (NYC), weaving together songs of Edvard Grieg, Franz Schubert, Maury Yeston and a world premiere cycle of songs by Stefania de Kenessey.

As an invited Resident Artist at a Bolzano music festival, she gave several concerts in that enchanting Italian city. Her German debut included concerts at the castles of Wolfshagen and Ludwigslust performing music by Verdi, Weill and Wolf.

Recently awarded a Masters Degree in Music and Music Education from the Teachers College of Columbia University, Lisa operates a private voice studio in New York City.

RICHARD PEARSON THOMAS, composer and pianist, has had works performed by the Boston Pops, Covent Garden Festival, Houston Grand Opera, Chautauqua Opera, Portland Opera, Eugene O’Neill Theater Center, Banff Centre, Skylight Opera Theatre, Riverside Opera Ensemble, Encompass Opera Theatre and Riverside Philharmonic Orchestra and Choir. His songs have been sung in Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Kennedy Center, Wigmore Hall, Joe’s Pub, and before the U.S. Congress. His work Race for the Sky, which was commissioned as a commemoration of the events of 9/11, has been performed by the Westchester Philharmonic Orchestra and in recitals nationwide.

Mr. Thomas’s commissioned opera, A Wake or a Wedding, was recently premiered by the California State University at Fullerton Opera Theatre. His musical Golden Gate, winner of the Michael Stewart Foundation Award, was performed in concert by the Monmouth Civic Chorus. He is a frequent collaborator with Mirror Visions Ensemble in the United States and Europe.

Mr. Thomas is on faculty at Teachers College/Columbia University and has taught at Yale and the University of Central Florida. As pianist, Mr. Thomas has concertized with singers worldwide. He is a member of the South Country Concerts chamber music ensemble, and is music advisor for the Phoenix Vocal Quartet.

He is a graduate of the Eastman School of Music and the University of Southern California, and is a native of Montana.

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OMG! I have previous plans for that night. Shucks. We a&r leaving for Florida until the 7th. We must have tea…or gin…or whatever. I am working on a magnificent shawl based on your clas on the Evelyn Clark style. Must finish for VKLNYC!

Go, go, go see any show by Lisa Daehlin. She has an in depth knowledge of the song catalog, & knows how to put together a meaningful show of well-chosen songs. And she presents them with deep understanding if the music & language. She’s fun, too. Definitely go!